Jury chosen in Vanderbilt rape trial of Brandon Banks
It took just about six hours on Thursday for lawyers to pick the 16 people that will hear next week’s trial of a former Vanderbilt University football player charged with aggravated rape.
The jury is made up of 12 women and four men. Six are minorities. Choosing them provided some hints about the cases that the state and the defense intend to present at trial next week.
The jurors include a former military member. A nurse. An engineer. A woman who said serving on a jury was on her bucket list — along with visiting the Grand Canyon.
On trial is Brandon E. Banks, 23, who is charged with five counts of aggravated rape and two counts of aggravated sexual battery. Prosecutors say Banks and three other former Vanderbilt football players raped an unconscious woman in a dorm room on June 23, 2013.
Two of the other men, Brandon Vandenburg and Cory Batey, were found guilty and are serving 17- and 15-year prison sentences, respectively. A fourth, Jaborian “Tip” McKenzie, has pleaded not guilty and is expected to testify against Banks.
The 16 chosen jurors will return to court Monday to begin Banks’ trial, which is expected to last one week. They will be sequestered, meaning they will stay overnight in a Nashville hotel, be kept under close watch and have to turn in their cellphones during trial.
And though all 16 will hear the state’s evidence, four will be deemed alternates and dismissed before deliberations, leaving 12 to decide the case.
Because of a mistrial in 2015 declared after an issue with a juror, this is now the fourth trial and fourth jury selection in the case.
About 80 potential jurors who made it through a half-day of screening on Wednesday returned Thursday and filled out questionnaires, which helped streamline the tedious process.
Assistant District Attorney General Jan Norman asked if each juror understood criminal responsibility: that a person can be guilty if they helped another person or knew about a crime.
It points to the same legal theory that led to Vandenburg’s convictions. Though there was no evidence, Vandenburg physically participated in the rape, evidence showed he was in the room and coached the others what to do. A jury found him guilty in June 2016.
One of Banks’ lawyers, Mark Scruggs, encouraged jurors to carefully consider the evidence in the case.
Key evidence includes McKenzie’s testimony and graphic images that, according to prior testimony, were recorded by the football players, including Banks.
Scruggs said those might not tell the whole story of what happened in a 30-minute span inside the dorm room. He said presence at a crime was not enough to prove someone was criminally responsible.
“What a person does sometimes can have multiple meanings,” Scruggs said. “You’ve got to look at the whole picture.”
Reach Stacey Barchenger at 615-726-8968, sbarchenger@ tennessean.com or on Twitter @sbarchenger.